UTAGAWA KUNINAO (1795-1854)

UTAGAWA KUNINAO (1795-1854)

YASHIMA GAKUTEI (1786-1868)

EDO PERIOD, 19TH CENTURY

Two Japanese surimono woodblock prints, the first depicting a Noh mask of Okane in a wrapping cloth, with a poem above and a red seal mark for Kuninao lower left corner; the other depicting a woman dressed as the Goddess Benten playing the biwa, a poem behind her, from the series Mitate Shichifukujin (Allusions to the Seven Lucky Gods), signed Gakutei; both prints embellished with metallic pigments and slight embossing, both shikishiban, 21.6cm x 18.9cm and 20.7cm x 19.2cm respectively. (2)

Provenance: from the collection of French sculptor Gaston de Luppé (1872-1939), and thence by descent.